Top Senate Democrats said Monday that they were freezing negotiations over legislation to overhaul permitting rules with Republicans after the Trump administration halted five offshore wind power farms that were already under construction.
That move from Democrats comes just days after the House passed the bipartisan the SPEED Act, which seeks to update the permitting and environmental requirements that energy developers must navigate to build pipelines, clean energy projects and transmission lines. That infrastructure will be critical for the country to meet fast-rising power demand driven in part by artificial intelligence data centers that are already driving up electricity prices.
“There was a deal to be had that would have taken politics out of permitting, made the process faster and more efficient, and streamlined grid infrastructure improvements nationwide,” Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), ranking member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), ranking member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said in a joint statement.
While Republicans have emphasized the need to remove the red tape that slows the development of fossil fuel pipelines and export facilities, Democrats have favored power grid investments they say are needed to expand the reach of renewable power sources like solar and wind power.
But a key stumbling block for Democrats has been the Trump administration's aggressive attacks against offshore wind power, an industry the Biden administration had sought to develop to deliver clean power to help fight climate change.
The Trump administration on Monday halted leases for all five large-scale offshore wind projects currently under construction in the United States, citing national security concerns.
“The illegal attacks on fully permitted renewable energy projects must be reversed if there is to be any chance that permitting talks resume,” the top Democrats added. “There is no path to permitting reform if this administration refuses to follow the law.”
In a statement, the White House reiterated its opposition to building and wind power in the United States.
“President [Donald] Trump has been clear: wind energy is the scam of the century. For years, Americans have been forced to pay billions more for the least reliable source of energy. The Trump administration has paused the construction of all large-scale offshore wind projects because our number one priority is to put America First and protect the national security of the American people,” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a statement.
Whitehouse and Heinrich thanked EPW Chair Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.) and ENR Chair Mike Lee (R-Utah) for “their good-faith efforts to negotiate a permitting reform bill that would have lowered electricity prices for all Americans.” A spokesperson for Capito declined to comment, while a spokesperson for Lee didn't immediately respond to a comment request.
“But any deal would have to be administered by the Trump Administration. By sabotaging U.S. energy innovation and killing American jobs, the Trump Administration has made clear that it is not interested in permitting reform,” Whitehouse and Heinrich said.
Previous attacks on the sector — including a stop work order for the Revolution Wind project off the coast of Rhode Island — have been at the center of concerns from Democrats.
The Interior Department’s order comes just days after House GOP leaders made concessions to appease foes of offshore wind on the right. House Republicans had hoped the action would spark the Senate to move quickly on permitting reform in the new year before Trump’s latest attacks crippled talks.
The White House and Interior Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.
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